Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Roses for the Teacher--March 24: Slice of Life Challenge 24/31-- #SOLC2015

Roses for the Teacher: Parent conferences today...

Nervousness and tension,

like a fever,

grab hold

and crowd my sensibilities.

I find myself scrambling

at the last minute

for more...

Scraps and remnants,

grades and journals, reading logs

and a published piece or two.

What parents really want--

is not that...at all;

no papers, no data,

no curriculum-based

evidence.

A little slice,

a peek

into a window:

their child's school life,

and mine--

a chance to walk away

knowing

that I totally get

their child,

that I have hopes

and imaginings

too.

AND--

that I care

about their child

almost as much

as they do!

(Today, when I swung open the classroom door to invite my last parent in--she held the most beautiful array of red roses out to me. "From your husband," she said. And then she smiled, "He must love you an awful lot!")

Slice of Life Challenge:

For the month of March, I'm participating in a daily writing challenge, blogging, and posting, and reading other teachers' blogs. This challenge was started by two writing teachers, and can be found at their blog each day: www.twowritingteachers.wordpress.com. Feel free to join me! It's a great way to keep story threading throughout your brain each day.

Subscribe To

About Me

I'm an early morning writer, and was an all day teacher (until recently!) for 32 years. I will always be 'Mom' to my three fully emancipated kids. And now, I have a beautiful Golden Retriever who follows me around all day! I wake long before dawn and spend my first waking hours in front of that blue screen out in my little gray cottage...following the many characters that inhabit this crazy brain of mine. I once had about 24 kids in tow on a daily basis, listening to my stories, and allowing me into their storied lives too. But now, they have become my most treasured memories...their writing, their laughter and all that they brought to class each day. But always and forever, I come home at night to a pretty terrific guy, who listens to all my education and writing blather...then tunes me out when he's had enough!